AT&T Expands LTE Network Coverage Area for FirstNet Subscribers; Chris Sambar Quoted

AT&T has added more than 50K square miles of LTE coverage area in a move to facilitate communications for nationwide first-responder network subscribers.

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The expansion will accommodate an additional 1M network users and is part of AT&T's FirstNet development project to help public safety personnel connect when they operate in urban or rural locations, the company said Wednesday.

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Marachel Knight, senior vice president of wireless and access engineering, construction and operations at AT&T, said the company seeks to increase its network capacity by 50 percent by the end of this year while laying the groundwork for a 5G system.

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AT&T also implemented Band 14 spectrum that works to generate signals across geographic areas that have less infrastructure.

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"We already cover more than 40 percent of our total FirstNet Band 14 rural and non-rural coverage targets," said Chris Sambar, senior vice president of FirstNet at AT&T, adding that the number represents a 10 percent increase in square miles covered by the new communications network since October of last year.